Tail movements such as wagging, flicking or pumping are reported from many bird species but their adaptive functions remain
poorly understood. Different hypothesis have been explicated, e.g. signalling quality to sexual

Tail movements such as wagging, flicking or pumping are reported from many bird species but their adaptive functions remain
poorly understood. Different hypothesis have been explicated, e.g. signalling quality to sexual partners, quality advertisement,
serving as an alarm signal, as a signal of submission, signalling to a predator that it has been spotted, signaling quality to a
predator or signaling inpalatability. Further it may serve to flush prey and it may support the vocal communication especially
in habitats with much noise. Locomotory functions have also been proposed. However, most of these suggestion remain
poorly tested. Here, I present some evidence that tail flicking serves as a signal to a potential ambushing predator, rather than
an alarm signal to conspecifics or as a signal of submission, but further studies should be encouraged to examine this behaviour
in detail. Especially, hypotheses dealing with communication within a pair and locomotory functions of tail movements seem
promising.